Pricing May be Hotter than the Weather…
Finally a Firm Footing for Upper End Homes…
Buyers Forced to Buck Up…
Did You Miss Us?
We had no time to send last month’s Market Report to your door step. We’re sorry about that. Many of you receive our monthly market report the moment it’s ready to send through our monthly newsletter available by simply registering on our website. Most months we, also, send a nice, glossy, fold-out version to your mailbox. Last month was simply too busy to do so and you may have missed out on some very valuable information. If you did miss the report, don’t be shy. You can sign up at www.DevinSanford.com and rest assured the monthly report is all you’ll get. We have no interest in sending you anything else. We don’t have time to produce junk mail. Heck, I haven’t even held an open house in over a year. That means the report is for you; just the facts and not a deluge of junk emails. In the famous words of Tony Baretta, “You can take dat to da bank.”
Take a look at what’s $old:
| Model | Original Asking Price | Asking Price when Sold | Sale Price | Days on Market |
| Discovery | $445,000 | $445,000 | $445,000 | 8 |
| Washington | $469,950 | $469,950 | $460,000 | 182 |
| Nice – First Nice Resell Ever in TRR | $685,000 | $685,000 | $665,000 | 40 |
| Hemlock | $735,000 | $735,000 | $735,000 | 0 |
| Cedar | $795,000 | $795,000 | $795,000 | 3 |
| Redford | $838,000 | $838,000 | $820,000 | 260 |
| Redford | $859,900 | $859,900 | $860,000 | 3 |
| Maryhill | $1,180,000 | $1,180,000 | $1,150,000 | 120 |
*Homes in bold & Green; the Elephant’s Work representing Sellers.
The average home sale price for June surpassed a whopping $750,000. That’s an easy six figure jump over the norm. With just two of the eight sales under $665,000 sales prices, it seems upper end buyers have finally found out about Trilogy. However, it is quite possible that these newcomers have been watching Washington’s premiere active adult community for some time and they’ve finally decided now is the time to pull the trigger. Many of Trilogy’s new members are coming from homes they’ve lived in 20, 30 and even in excess of 40 years! Why now?
Since the recovery, which is really getting to be quite old news now, sales have sky-rocketed and the only thing keeping Western Washington back from record sales in every category is the lack of inventory. This lack of inventory has forced pricing, however, into record percentage increases month- over-month and year-over-year. Prognosticators are touting the FED will raise interest rates in September to balance the economy and everyone, it seems, is hurrying to sell before that happens.
There’s something even more special about Trilogy. This community has been a late bloomer. Just the number of new agents bringing buyers to Trilogy, whom us veteran Trilogy brokers have never seen before, is a huge indicator that the word is out; Trilogy is awesome! When something is extraordinary, those who buy first will benefit greatly and those who dilly dally may get priced out. I believe that to be the main reason for the high end priced homes surge; period. The questions are, how long will it last and just how high will it go? I predict Fall may be just that; at the very least, a slip.
What’s Currently In Escrow?
Take a quick look at this recap of home statuses so far Year-to-Date:
| Jan. | Feb. | March | April | May | June | |
| $old | 6 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 8 |
| Pending | 4 | 8 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 11 |
| Active | 15 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 11 |
Here’s at what’s currently “Pending” or “Pending Inspection”
These 11 are homes which have reached mutual terms between a buyer and a seller but have not yet recorded with the county. We won’t know the sale price until the deed changes hands and excise tax has been collected by the county.
| Model | Original Price | Asking Price | Days on Market | Elephant thoughts: |
| Townsend | $439,000 | $439,000 | 4 | |
| Washington | $519,500 | $495,000 | 124 | Vine Maple Greenbelt |
| Bainbridge | $619,000 | $599,900 | 72 | |
| Whidbey | $599,950 | $599,950 | 4 | Golf Course Home |
| Vancouver | $619,000 | $599,900 | 11 | Greenbelt |
| Hemlock | $729,000 | $729,000 | 17 | Close to Club |
| Nice | $779,950 | $779,950 | 2 | Opulent |
| Cedar | $799,000 | $799,000 | 1 | Greenbelt |
| Hemlock | $865,000 | $865,000 | 1 | Golf Course Home |
| Monticello | $$1,075,000 | $1,075,000 | 10 | Golf & Mountain Views |
| Maryhill | $1,075,000 | $1,075,000 | 2 | Golf Course Home |
*Homes in bold & green indicate the Elephant is working for our Sellers.
Why the quick sales? No, obviously, they’re not underpriced with record sales prices. It’s simple; we spend weeks on average properly preparing the properties then, we promote the heck out of them and price them so we don’t have to apologize. Recently, we’ve done this in Bothell, Maltby, Kirkland, Everett, Lynnwood and Bellevue, as well as other burbs of Seattle. It’s the Elephant way
Please, keep in mind all the following data is as of June 30th, 2015 at midnight for month over month accuracy. Statuses of some of these homes have changed by the time you receive this report. We’ll serve no wine before its time.
Sellers Continue to Hold the Cards
Here’s what’s available:
| Model | Original Price | Asking Price | Days on Market | Elephant thoughts: |
| Chelan | $410,000 | $399,950 | 40 | Backs to wall |
| Orchard | $474,900 | $464,900 | 31 | Twinberry Way |
| Union | $465,000 | $465,000 | 39 | Backs to Wall |
| Vashon | $514,900 | $515,000 | 139 | $10K Buyer Credit |
| Washington | $529,000 | $529,000 | 12 | Greenbelt & Rockery |
| Vashon | $549,900 | $539,900 | 31 | |
| Vancouver | $569,000 | $549,000 | 151 | Backs to Trilogy Pkwy. |
| Bainbridge | $675,000 | $675,000 | 7 | Greenbelt Home |
| Hemlock | $729,950 | $729,950 | 28 | Greenbelt Corner Lot |
| Hemlock | $744,900 | $744,900 | 91 | Greenbelt Lot |
| Maple | $830,000 | $830,000 | 13 | Good Parking |
*Homes in bold & green; the Elephant at work.
Hmmm…There’s no Green. Whoops; All $old. Why then, are others still searching for buyers in this hot market? I’m a firm believer that there are three different types of people in the world; those that make things happen, those that watch things happen and those that wonder what happened. Everything, and I mean everything, sells. The key is to get the getting’ while the getting’ is hot before you have to dig deep into the pot.
There’s an old cliché, “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting’ what you’ve always gotten.” If something isn’t selling, there’s a reason. Be honest with yourself and picture your presentation and pricing from the perspective of an outsider; an unemotional visitor. Some may need to stop looking at your homes with rose colored glasses. You may love it but others may not see the value. What would you change? What would make the home a perfect value for what you’re asking? What is missing? If nothing is missing, it’s either the presentation or the price. My suggestion would be to ask your broker what it takes to make it happen. Just because your friends tell you how much they love your home doesn’t mean they’d buy it. Friends always say nice things; they’re not going to hurt your feelings.
The Match Tic
| Low – YTD | High – YTD | Prior Month | June |
| 26 | 41 | 35 | 32 |
The total amount of all Northwest Multiple Listing statuses measured 32 at month end. Status may include Active (Homes currently available for sale), Pending Inspection (Homes under contract but still in the home inspection process), Pending (Homes that have worked through the inspection process successfully), Sold (Homes that have closed escrow), Contingent (Sold homes that are contingent upon the buyer selling their own home) and TOMK or BOMK (Homes that are either Temporarily Off Market or Back on Market after being temporarily unavailable.
Mid-Year Update
By the end of June, there have been 46 home sales in Trilogy at Redmond Ridge. Showing there are some agents who consistently keep Trilogy in their home buyer arsenal of good neighborhoods, 51 agents represented either the buyer or the seller in those 46 transactions. 46 deals means there were 92 sides when each deal has a Buyer(s) agent AND a Seller(s) agent. For those of us with real estate licenses, called “Brokers” in Washington, a Buyer’s Broker is known as the “Selling Broker”; they bring the buyer to your door. A Seller’s Broker is known as a “Listing Broker”. Although, the Elephant holds the award of “Accredited Buyer’s Representative” or ABR designation, I am primarily a Listing Broker. We are the ones who roll up our sleeves and spend all the money on the marketing of the homes and bring “Buyer’s Brokers” to the door. The Elephant prefers serving to selling which is a great fit for a “Listing Broker”. That is why, although the other 50 brokers average around 1% of Trilogy’s transactions, the Elephant makes up for over 15% of the transactions alone. We own a checkbook and a broom and we use them both regularly. Of course, I’m always happy to help you invest in a home, as well. I know the inventory of Trilogy inside and out.
Note: All currently available listings are posted on this site. Just go to the Trilogy tab and select “Current Trilogy Listings” from the drop down list. For all listings, “Click” the large button on the right. It says, “View all Trilogy at Redmond Ridge Listings.” Within this report, we share what is available at the first of the month for consistent and measurable month over month reporting.
That’s a wrap for June. We’ll see you next month.